Fade
by Sora-Hyouryuu
Summary: (v.): to gradually grow faint and disappear; to vanish.


Too much all at once.

Natsu's thoughts are a choppy, panicked whirlwind. He is running at high-speed, so desperate he stumbles, which makes him go slower. He doesn't care about anything. Not how he got in this position, nor how damaged he was.

He just needs to get to her.

He feels weak, his body shaking. He's not tired, the adrenaline coursing through him banished all traces of tiredness. He can feel the tremble under the shaking pants and desperate, uneven sprinting. An odd feeling comes to him and though he has felt it before, he doesn't want to name it, for fear that he will be acknowledging that there is a reason for him to feel it.

His chest is tightening as her scent gets stronger, along with the metallic stench that he prays has nothing to do with her. Her usual vanilla smell is almost masked by the tangy odor, and he can't bring himself to calm down when those two mingle. The sweat rolls down his back, and he finds it weird, because he feels this_ cold_ on the inside. He feels like he's running on some endless stretch of land, like he's never going to get to her.

He spots blond.

He is suddenly standing over her, his eyes wide with a frightened shock. His trembling intensifies, and his knees give out, splashing in the ever-growing pool of blood underneath her. He takes her into her arms gently, a choked sound escaping from his lips. It is a cross of a gasp and a sob, and it is so faint he barely registers it as himself.

Her face is pale, but perfect as always. Her body is mangled, and a knife sticks out of her chest. His blood seems to freeze.

_No._

He stares down at her, not able to believe all of this. His mind is hectic, and for a second he wonders if he can even produce words anymore.

"L-Lucy?" His voice cracks severely, the disbelief lying under it.

Her dull, glassy eyes meet his own scared ones and a small flash passes through them. There is a clarity in them, just then, like she knows what's happening. She nods almost imperceptibly, like she understands that she's not going to be there for long. It's funny, in a not-so-funny way, that she finds it easier to accept it than he does.

"I'm sorry..." she gurgles, blood dripping out of the corner of her mouth. There is a small rueful smile on her face, and if it was another time, he would've screamed at her.

He can't seem to bring his voice out anymore, but he pulls her into his lap, crossing his legs to cradle her to his chest. He lacks all other option, as his mind is too crazed to form coherent thoughts.

She is fading, and there is _nothing _he can do_._

He can't bring himself to abide by this, and the shaking of his body is still there. His heart it beating at a million miles per hour, so strong it's like it wants to force its way out of his chest, which is so tight it hurts.

She stares up at his fearful face, her color rapidly draining.

"I'm so sorry. I don't... wanna leave yet..." her voice is a mere whisper, yet he still hears it over the ringing in his ears. She struggles to talk, and his eyes sting.

"Lucy. Lucy, no." His voice comes to him, but he doesn't know what he's saying _'no' _to, exactly.

Tears come down her face, but she still smiles at him.

A thousand emotions all at once, bursting within him so quickly, washing over him like a wave. There is anger, sadness, despair, fear; the one that catches him most is the aching loneliness. His vision blurs, and something hot trails down his cheeks. He distantly wonders how he feels it, considering there isn't much that can make him feel heat.

"Please... d-don't cry..." her voice is breaking, smile slipping. She is shaking uncontrollably, and he can barely feel it over his own shuddering. She tries to reach up a hand, and he grabs it, leaning his cheek to it. He lets go, wanting it to stay, but it falls, as her strength quickly depletes.

"No," he whispers," no, no, no, no, no , no, NO! _NO!" _He is shouting hysterically, his voice pitched.

"You can't leave!" He pleads, but he _knows_ she doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"I'm sorry, N-Natsu..." she says, voicing his thought.

"Stop it! Stop saying 'sorry', please!" He doesn't mean to yell, but he's falling apart at the seams.

She turns up, and doesn't respond, closing her eyes. He gasps, as he knows that she has seconds. He desperately wants to say something, to be strong and encourage her to fight it, so he can get help. But he is rooted to his spot, and he can't think straight. Suddenly, he speaks up.

"Don't go." It's a statement made in a shaky voice, but it's filled with such sorrow and dejection that Lucy would have done whatever she could to stay.

"I'm... I'm s-s-sorry... " Her voice is the faintest of whispers, and with her last breath, she adds,"I... I..." And her chest stops moving. Her head lolls silently.

And he watches in pure horror as she fades from existence.

It's so sudden. The pain of not knowing her final thought makes his body frigid, and he doesn't want to accept that she won't be there, living, _breathing. _He immediately forces himself to know that she isn't gone yet.

"L-Lucy?" So small, so sad.

"Lucy please, s-say something..." He yearns for a response, and shakes her lightly.

"P-Please, Lucy, d-d-don't..." A frantic plea edged with almost insanity. He sniffles, and sobs once, tears beginning to gush.

"L-Lucy! Lucy, I'm b-begging you, _don't leave me_!" The words spew, and he's speaking quickly, ranting, jumbling words together until they are almost incoherent. His cries grow and grow, jarring his cold body, and he stares at her. Memories flash through his mind, one by one, all about her and their adventures. How much he'll miss her, and never get her back.

Every thought leaves his head at this. He sobs and sobs and sobs, and each one hurts more than the last.

_She's_ _gone._

It is the oddest feeling in the world. He feels everything wrong, like nothing would ever console him

It _hurts_.

"Don't leave me alone, Lucy." He croaks once more, but he knows she's already gone, and she's never coming back. His face scrunches up, eyes screwing shut as his heart-wrenching sobs fill the air once more. He pulls her as close as he can, feeling her cold_cold _body. He cries her name over and over, knowing it's futile.

_It's futile._

_Stop it._

And suddenly, his blank head doesn't feel anymore.

He is detached, his mind closing in on itself. His heart doesn't feel like it's beating anymore, the gaping void of loneliness already swallowing his shattered heart.

He is... disappearing, though not like she had.

And he is staring at her limp body in his arms, unmoving, unfeeling. His orbs are dark in sadness, and even though he's slowly vanishing into the grieving recesses of his mind, his eyes continue to spill their tears, the only sign that he's still alive.

_He feels himself fading._

And now that she's already gone, he doesn't care if he ever comes back.

* * *

**(A/N):**

**God, I almost cried myself.**

**I thing I put too much tragedy. I don't really like those cliche "confess before she dies" plots, and I especially hate the one's where she magically whispers into his ear, or appears as an angel or some shit.**

**This is to make up for the time I was gone. I didn't have internet, so there was no way for me to write up the fourth chapter for Delirium. I'm in the process of writing that, too, so don't worry. I will have it up soon, and I figured a nice tragedy one-shot would be good.**

**To be honest, this all just extended from being cold. Seriously, I was reading this fic, and the main character was cold so my thoughts decided it would be fun to spiral off in some tangent, so yeah.**

**Oh yeah, another thing that inspired me:**

_**{"I died. I'm sorry," you say;**_  
_**"Shall I say 'goodbye'?", you say;**_  
_**Don't say such lonely things, don't go away!}**_

**It's from a song called _Lost Time Memory_, which is from the Kagerou Project, like the song that inspired my other story. There's a whole bunch of songs, so check it out!**

**Anyway, I'm a bit tired, so I'll stop writing. Hope you enjoyed!**

**_~Cool Noodles in Awesome Sauce~_****  
**


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